Mighty!

Bright colors and appropriately bright lighting are two things that really get me jazzed. I could never live in a basement apartment, cave or deepsea underwater huddle. Don't misunderstand. I appreciate the value in darkness. I know that stars only really twinkle against a nightsky backdrop. I understand that black is slimming. Chocolate sometimes saves my life. Many a superhero relied solely on a black cape, suit or headdress. I get it. Still, bursting rainbows and skittle-splattered backdrops are just my thing. I'm a sunny person. This vibe does not ride without a certain amount of shine.

Lately, there's so much going on, I've begun to feel like my head has spun around sixteen times and ended up stuck in the wrong direction and I feel...a little disoriented. I have to shake myself up. Have to do some jumping jacks, orchestrate an impromptu dance party in my office or find an unsuspecting puppy to hug and smother, for a few. Truly, it's wonderful to be busy and it's nice to be so needed. Yes, I have more energy than the average bear...but heavens to mergatroid! Sometimes, this Queen needs a pick me up, and no amount of glittery, cuddling, puff-painted, so you think you can dance-ing will get me there. I have made a determination. I need to hire a cheerleader. No wait, better yet. I'm starting a pep squad. And I'm recruiting.

I don't know if you've checked out a cheerleading team lately. Perhaps you've failed to show up to any local sporting events and missed the chance to catch a glimpse. Picture this: bedazzled divas, pom-poming their way across a field, a floor or some open arena. Hair pulled back with ribbon, sneakers matching and bleach-n-glow white. Smiles for days, bellowing out chants and rants and enthusiasm and support! Stunting! Backflips, russians, pyramids, jumps, leaps, jazz hands! Athleticism like Tiger couldn't compete with. And all that energy, all the force of this entire creation is focused on letting everyone know: You can do it! You're not down! We know you've got the special sauce! You are the best! Numero Uno = You! Go! Go! Go! See these ribbons? I wore them for you! This triple backtuck? In your honor and your name! I am more than a chic with spunk! I believe in you!

I'm sorry, but I have to say it. Who doesn't need this? At least once a week, but really, why not once a day?

Seriously though, I mean it, the world is a whirling, wild place, these days. We're all on the move and we get where we're going so quickly. Finding time to fit it all in can be an exercise in organizing chaos theory. It's just not simple and, while we're all doing our best to be queens, genies, princesses, kings, princes, lords, dukes and the occassional Beyonce, it's reality: we all need to do our best to pep each other up from time to time and channel our inner cheer team captain.

So, not only am I looking for a cheerleader to keep on retainer, but I'm offering you my own services in return. I'm going to do my very best to urge you and revive you in the ways I know you deserve. If I sense you're looking a little pekid or punked out, I'm going to summon my latest, greatest chant and walking handstand. From time to time, I may need you to put on a sweater with your Vibe Queen's lettering and leap around me, squealing that you've got my back. Together, I believe we can rally even the most defeated team spirit. We aren't made of titanium and steel. We're made of something lovelier than that-the shared energy of a universe acquainted with darkness, yes, but always, continually blanketed by a rising sun.

I want you working on your splits and backhandsprings. I want you pumping your fists in the air with glee. I want you to know that together, we will share this motto: Go Team!

Play this Way

People work really hard. I mean it, we do. The next time you're at the grocery store, look around you as you're bumbling around on a hunt for that cheese you ate at your girlfriend's house last week. Just check it out. People are furrowed and scowling and focusing on the task at hand. They're gripping their lists, checking off the completeds and hurriedly chasing down the remainders. That guy with four bags of puppy chow? His name is Brian. He's been up since 5 am. He went for a run before work, squeezed in a carwash on his lunchbreak and now, at 630 PM, he's heading home to his wife Tina and their dog, Buster. Buster's out of dog food and Tina's mad. Why didn't he pick it up when he was there last time? Now, the dog's got to starve and whine. Thanks Brian. Can't wait to see you when you get home.

Or, have you been to the gym lately? Walked by an open door to a random, 530 PM spin class? Seen the instructor barking out at the crowd of huddling, sweating, grimacing lycra-clad souls? Have you honed in on any one person's face long enough to recognize their effort? There's Lisa, in the front row. She is fit and she will tell you she's getting fitter. Lisa's in a wedding in 3 weeks. She'll be a bridesmaid for the 7th time in 2 years. She has decided that if she's going to wear another strapless A-line dress, she's going to make it look damn good, even if it is the 8th time around. My girl is working hard for her hemline.

I don't mean to poke fun at this ethic, really. I'm just like Lisa and Brian. I'm the woman beside you on the interstate, fearfully applying lip gloss, yammering into her bluetooth and faking it til I make it, believing that I will NOT be five minutes late, again. I understand. I speak-a-the language. I just think that play is so enormously important to squeeze in there, somewhere. Anywhere. If we strive and go and run and work and wittle outselves down to the carb-free, mundane, motorized version of ourselves, we'll all start to look and, far worse, feel, like the pre-packaged, not for resale versions of ourselves. If we don't keep refreshing and refueling, recharging and remixing the ingredients of our everyday life-smoothie, we'll just fade. I don't want to be another task to be marked off another legal pad. I.Just.Don't.

And so, this is why I'm out here, dear worker bees. This is why I am the queen. I want to lure you, want to entice you and remind you to beautify your life, every new day. I want you to see the color, want you to savor the flavor, want you to listen to my thrumming beats. I want you to know that I think you work it, even when you're not working on it. Our motto, here, encourages our guests and our posse to Stay and Play and we mean it. I mean it. Officially, I'm marking it Christmas in July at aloft Chesapeake and we're giving out the gift of ourselves. Our joy is ringing out all year long. In case you hadn't had your daily dose of inspiration, here I am, right now, to remind you: You only have one life. Let.It.Out.

I'll be here when you're ready to ditch the dozen eggs and the drug store on the way home. Play on, playettes.

The Genie of the Vamp

Do I seem like an only child?  I get that alot.  People meet me, see how I feel willing to inhabit all the space and energy around me and they go, oh yea, somebody spoiled that sister, once.  But here's the deal-I'm not a solitary entity.  And I never was.  In fact, most of the reason I'm so willing to know my power, my flavor and my funk, is because of my sibling and, more importantly over the years, my fabulous contingent of friends.

I won't spend much time talking about my big sis, Double U.  I know you and everyone in the universe, it seems, knows who she is.  She's a glamorous personality, and having her as my older sis was truly a gift.  She always knew who she was and it showed.  The gal has just always demonstrated a lot of style, verve and energy.  For me, if I were to ever match her power, I knew I'd have to go my own way and find my own inner fire.  She has always loved me, supported me and adored me in her way, but ultimately, Double U does her own thing and goes her own way.  Me?  Sure, I'm independent, but I love my posse.  I need my crew.  After all I am a queen, and every queen has got to have her court.

This brings me to the importance of my trusty, zesty sidekick.  While I don't mention her much, she's become an integral part of the jazz-factory that I'm currently operating.  It's a wonderful thing to be a bold and vibrant lady who believes in herself and her dreams.  Sometimes, however, life throws you a random, clustered pickle of a hairball.  Suddenly, you need a re:mix or a re:charge and for some reason, it's just not happening.  Mojo?  Nowhere to be found.  Juju quotient?  Depleted.  The groundwork is laid and all the players are in place, but... no cigar.  That's when you gotta have friends.  You know, the people who return you to yourself, remind you of your fabulosity, speak directly to your sassy soul.  For me, I have the diva with the secret recipe for my re:fuel and she is the Genie.  The Genie of the Vamp.

The girl's a femme fatale.  She's dynamic, colorful, quirky and uber-cool.  In fact, in many ways, she reminds me of myself, but in her own unique Genie way.  She works words the way we Vibe Queen's like and her flair for fun and freedom is what I'm all about.  I can tell you, I've been operating in a space primarily inhabited by my doting, loving Kings, and it's fabulous, but it's been missing a little feminine magic.  Fortunately, Genie's a masterful materialize-r.  Poof and she's here.  She's keeping me sane on days when I'm less a queen and more just a jester.  She's my lady in waiting, ready to remind me of our shared mission-to create, to revive, to enliven!  We're workin' out our flow, every day, together.  We're two women who love to love ourselves and love to love each other!  And why not?  When it looks like there's nothing left to celebrate, remember your sisters, and get on out there and celebrate yourselves.  

Lately, Summer's kicking into effect, and we're jammin' over here, at the hot spot.  It's busy, it's steamy and it's right.  All the synergistic flow is taking off and I can feel it:  we're blowin' up.  It would be easy to ride this train out by myself, but I don't want to.  No matter where I go or what I do, I'm taking with me my girls, my team, my ladies.  I'm not alone out here.   You know it, as well as I:  Life is a team sport and we've got to choose our players and our teammates well.  I'm so grateful to my Genie, for being on my squad.  For me, she's a score, a dynamo, my secret weapon on a rainy day.  We'll be out here, chillin' and fulfillin' all Summer, seniorita's and senora's.  So, allow me to invite you to join our posse of Vibe-ettes and Vamp-tress's.  

Let's all make a concerted effort to celebrate the sizzlin' sisterhood.  Where my ladies at? 

Word

I love words.  And how can I not?  They are designed, specifically, to help us humans effectively and efficiently communicate with other members of our species.  In case you hadn't noticed, communication is EVERYTHING to me, so, naturally, wordsmithing is a craft I learned to hone, long before I got great at just about anything else.  How to use a spoon seemed less important than how to spell the word spoon.  "Vibe Queen, I want to teach you how to ride a bike," turned into, "But wait, what is the derivation of the word bicycle?  Do we know how many different words there are to describe or reference a bike?"  When I write, when I read, when I speak, when I am understood, when I get someone's point, when connection happens...those are my versions of success.  Those are my scores!

Words are funny little characters, though.  Some words reach some people, and for others, they're meaningless.  For many people, formal speech and traditional language use doesn't exist.  For others, anything but proper grammatical usage/syntax is unacceptable.  Shall is a word that my grandmother and I use.  It's a beautiful word, but if it doesn't mean turkey to you, it loses its power.  So, I play with words.  I rework them to fit my world.  I have so much to say, all the time, but it's all jibber jabber, gobbeldy gook, if my audience can't hear me, doesn't get it, cannot read between the lines.  I know I can be confusing, sometimes.  I know my rhymes can be a little bit of a hassle.  Sometimes, I sound like something so entirely different, it might alarm you or deter you from what it is I'm trying to do.  Let me use words that I know we can all understand and be very clear:  I am here to build a bridge, draw a map and break bread pieces back to the place where I believe we all want to be, inevitably, anyway-mutually understood, mutually respected, together.  

I'm going to list a few of my queen-isms, for you to use from time to time, should you get lost in the ever-whirling flow.  I don't mean to condescend, so please don't misunderstand.  I just know that I can be a bit of a jumping monkey on a bullhorn, and I don't want to leave some of my most cherished brothers and sisters in the dark.  Keep reading.  Keep listening.  Talk to me.  Tell me what you want to understand.  Ask me how I can help you speak your truth.  Follow me, in your favorite fashion.  Because, ultimately, posse, it's all about the word.  And I'm sending it out to more than just your mother.

Queen Cues:

Deets = Details

Bunny = a term of endearment, referring to a friend or adored person, analogizing the cute, adorable and sweet way of the aforementioned animal.  

Doodle on my noodle = for usage, see "Bunny," but without the animal part.  I just think the word doodle is cute and who doesn't love noodles??

WTF = I'll assume we don't have to go there.

Sha-Wing = Score!  Heck yea!  You won!  I won!  Somebody just became a millionaire!

Sitch = Situation

Zazz = short for Pizazz, generally used as a verb, in my world.  (ex. I like to "zazz" things up.)  A common queen reference to jazzing up, pumping up, freshening up, livening up, etc.

OMG = again, I think you're under a rock if this means nothing to you.  Sorry.  Don't mean to be a hater, but...

Wha? = What?  I saved a T and got to remain open-mouthed with disbelief.

Wackity McStackins = a term that I commonly use to refer to a total wacko, crazy person, obnoxious psychopath, etc. 

Fliz-ow = Flow with an iz in the middle.   

Sheesh = Jeez, but PC

Snickity Snacks = small, tasty bites of food, much like tapas or the every day h'ors d'oeuvres plate

There may be more that I throw out, as we continue this conversation we're having, so I'd like to formally invite you to let me know when I get a little wackity mcstackins (refer to your list!!!) on the verbiage and you need a little help.  Please do send me an email listing the word in question, and I will do my best to get the sitch (again...the list!) all cleared up.

Thank you for being in my crew, and rollin' with me.  I know we've all got our little lots to carry around, but having you around seems to lighten my load and get my engine's burnin'.  Word.

The Art of Living

Today, I am what I like to call "slim-pickins."  I didn't sleep well, woke up late and let my typical routine go to hell in a handbag, over and over and over and....well, you get it.  Everything is just doing it's own little thing, in it's own little way and I'm sort of trailing along behind it.  It only really got pickly for me as the afternoon waned on and my task list began to explode with, primarily, the heavily creative work.  I sat at my little desk and felt like the formica version of myself.  I looked around at the fax machine, copier, color printer, giant laminator and stacks of weekly sales logs and thought, I gotta get on up outta here, if I'm gonna get this genius to grow.

So, I picked up my trusty mac and hustled into re:mix.  Parked self down on bright green chair.  Kicked off shoes.  Put feet up on giant, cushioned ottoman.  Here, I sit.  The music is rocking me-Annie Lennox is soulfully covering some of my favorite songs that were, heretofore, not favorite's.  The sun is shining through our giant windows and doors and I feel recovered.  The crazy day virus that infected my system has been thwarted.  Thank you to re:freshed space.  This brings me to my point.  Space is just SO important, sometimes.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a whimsical sort of personality, so I can cook up a little creative most of the time.  But when it's been rough, when my vibe has run dry, when the spunk I so rely on to feel fiery, each day, turns to funk, I need beauty.  I need art.  I need air, light, clean, fresh, bright.  It all comes down to energy, really.  When my energy is low, I look to space to renew me.  I mean, we're all taking up space, right?  So, it may as well be more about renewal and less about, well, bad lighting and the creepy, incessant whining of the technological multiplex that can tend to consume most office spaces.  

I'm so lucky and so blessed to have found myself in a place, in a space, that is, ultimately, all about renewal.  I'm so fortunate to have discovered myself as an authentically energetic-minded person, and I'm even more grateful that I have found the right kind of places and people to help me manage this aspect of myself.  

We have these names that we use to define each corner of our little palace, at aloft:  re:fuel, re:fresh, re:mix, re:charge, etc.  We have tried to make it easy for you-we use our words and our language to speak to the truth of who we are, what we need and what we want to continually offer-a revived, invigorated experience of life, an energy-infusion on a grimey day, a space to seek solace in the art of living. 

Fried Day

Fridays can be funny days, right? It's like, sometimes, I get there and I'm so jazzed and pumped that my work is done and that free time is here, that my energy tanks and I hit the wall at 7 PM. I'll admit it, it's become the night where I tend to catch up on zz's, eat an early meal at home and, occassionally, do leftover laundry. I call it my fried day. I'll allow it-attach the giant L above my head. I know, I know. Stay with me, though. This is all about to change. I'm crafting myself a sort of ramp-up weekend performance plan. As of right now, step one looks like this:

Every Friday night, DJ Jeyone, a stupendously brilliant DJ, rocks our turntables with styly-style and genius mixes. This guy is seriously a genie. No, really. He's skilled with records the way lion tamers and bee charmers are-he's got a natural inclination toward wrangling something big, loud, raucous and wild and making it look easy, making it fun, fresh, compelling. He literally is the re:mix on Friday nights. And he's worth every step taken to get here and check him out. He is. He's worth the rally I have to do to get myself back up and out, after a long week. He's worth every second of my disco nap, worth every missed errand run on the Saturday morning I'll sleep through, on the flip side of the night. Because he's inspiring, he's smart and he re:charges my vibe with his creative musical stylings. I can dance it out, I can chill and ride it out. Doesn't matter, it all applies. The kid is a killer. And I'm giving up the lazy, nerdy week-end side of myself for him.

Fridays at 9 PM at aloft. Yes. He'll put your game down, flip it and reverse it.

It's all in aloft

Here's the way I plan my day: I rise, knock back copious amounts of coffee and hit re:charge for a little sweat-fest, jammin' it up to GirlTalk on my ipod. Afterward, I take myself out to breakfast at re:fresh, grab an apple, some yogurt, maybe a little oatmeal, perhaps a bowl of cheerios, it varies... Then, I race off to a hot shower and get bedazzled for my day. I take a few quiet moments to reflect on the day before, the morning workout, or even the tastiness of the snack I just savored. It's the little things that revv the Queen of the Vibe, truly.

Once I hit the floor and I'm headed into my vibe bubble for the days tasks, I generally feel re:freshed and re:vived. Sometimes, I'm slim pickins', so I grab a hot chocolate for a little pick me up, or maybe a latte, if I need an extra kick it up. No matter what, I always basically get groovy by being able to get my hands on whatever I need, without leaving the front doors. It's work that works for me. And I love it. All day, I watch people making great use of space and relishing in the freedom, the flow and the sweet tunes that we keep on constant rotation, throughout. Yesterday, I came out for a midday snack and found only one oatmeal raisin cookie remaining, amidst the chocolate chip and the macedamia nut stash. My coworker had a similar hankering for the dried grape and quaker combination, so we lovingly chose to halve it up and share. It's really peaceful, being me. But that's only because I haven't mentioned anything past the 5 o'clock hour.

Flip the switch and dangle the disco ball, W xyz me! Our swanky, eco-sophisticated, dynamic space is just right for a cocktail, a glass of organic wine or, better yet, a signature cocktail made by one of our sassy bartenders. I tend to like to wind down, beginning promptly at 6 PM, and I find w xyz to be the perfect ride for my end-of-day vibe. After a few of my favorite cocktails-du-jour, I like to whip out for a light bite and get home to do some work, watch a little tube on my flatscreen, or just mellow out to some music and maybe grab a nightcap before I tuck into my tender sheets and find my very favorite, vibey zzz's.

It's all in a day. It's all in aloft.

Gimme a Beat!

I sometimes come up with hair-brained ideas. True, I'm a creative-type, imaginatively-driven, frequently caught up in an excited, whirling new vision of "fun" or "inspired" or whatever's tickling my fancy in any given moment. And, many times, these ideas are brilliant and exciting, but they don't happen on their own. There's a lot of collaborating and hard work that go into creating something large enough to entertain, enlighten and educate a pack. Alone, I am a force, but my force will fade, ultimately, if I don't find a posse to pick me up when I've given out all my zazz and hit the wall. I learned a long time ago: I'm a drummer, but I'm only useful if I'm surrounded by the people who only need a beat. When I started creating vibe, I didn't know who would pick up my flow. Suddenly, it's fabulous, it's lovely, it's perfect-all the right players are converging on me, all over the place, and the daydreamy wishes I sent out into the wind are walking through the front door, realized and ready to dance. Good thing we've got this smokin' sound system...

I'm a nerd for a party with a purpose. I mean it, give me a cause and I will find a cure. I'm all about fun for a serious sake. And, that being said, one of my current missions is to support the local community-it's artists and talent and small businesses and, importantly, it's natural resources. So, when I discovered that Chesapeake hadn't yet begun celebrating "Green Drinks"- a sort of happy hour for the eco-sophisticate- I was like, Duh. We're so gonna make this happen. Interestingly and conveniently, every green activist in the area has found a way to be between 1 and 3 degrees of separation from me, and they are all TOTALLY acting as my posse- extraordinaire. Everyone wants to help. So many superstars want to be involved. My lunches for, seriously, the next month, are completely booked. The drums are thumping...the beat goes on.

Last month, we succeeded in launching our first "Meet the Artist" event, and many of our new contingent were found from that fray. It's fabulous because, having attended that event, they already realize we're purpose-driven. The people we care about are beginning to really care about us. I feel like someone weeded the garden in front of the fence in my front yard and they're interested to step through and see what's going on inside.

Green Drinks Chesapeake will launch, officially and for real, this Thursday, June 4th at 5:30 PM. We'll have organic wine to drink, the backyard patio open and awaiting sunbathers and, of course, a lot of environmentally-invested peeps who love all the colors of the rainbow, but especially love green. We're Virginia Green certified and I've got our e-newsletter ready to roll and our invite list is growing! The word is circulating-we've got people ready to speak and teach and play and drink and laugh and connect and do all the things we love, and do it for the sake of caring about our shared, physical space.

It actually, really is easy being green. Join us this Thursday, if you can make it. See what it looks like to, once again, turn a pretty thought into a very real meeting of great minds. In this case, green, great minds...